FM Sitharaman directs civil account officials to make govt's annual accounts ‘user-friendly’: How will it help you?

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked civil accounts services officials to make the government's annual accounts more approachable and user-friendly. FM Sitharaman lauded the Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) officers, led by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), for the "silent technological revolution" in which states are finding ease of operation and getting government work done by adopting the public financial management system (PFMS).

"I would also like you to examine, in consultation with the CGA, whether it would be possible to make the annual accounts more approachable and user-friendly and allow citizens to analyse easily and generate customisable and simpler reports," said FM Sitharaman on Saturday, March 1, 2025.

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FM Sitharaman seeks govt's annual accounts to be ‘user-friendly’: How will it help you?

FM Sitharaman said that since much digital integration has already taken place with the states, more research can be carried out based on the data set available with the CGA. "If you're able to make the report a lot more user-friendly, that itself can generate a lot of interest in your work," she said.

Sitharaman also asked the Expenditure Department and the CGA to ensure that the SNA Sparsh is smoothly rolled out for all schemes in the upcoming financial year. "CGA should handhold states in seamless onboarding and transition from whichever (platform) they have to the SNA Sparsh and convince them about the benefits of this reform and quick adaptation," she said.

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PFMS developed and implemented by the CGA under the Department of Expenditure, provides an IT platform and ensures end-to-end digital payments, receipt collection, and accounting. It also ensures effective cash management in the Central Government system through the 'just in time' transfer of funds and complete tracking of the realisation of funds from their release to their credit into the bank account of intended beneficiaries.

The SNA module ensures better monitoring of the availability and utilisation of funds released to states under centrally sponsored schemes (CSS). SNA SPARSH is a system which ensures quick release of funds to states for CSS.

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The SNA module includes 141 CSS, 4,972 state-linked schemes, and over 15 lakh agencies. The Centre has released over ₹13.60 lakh crore through the SNA module. FM Sitharaman nudged the Civil Accounts Officers to create more public awareness so that people would appreciate taxpayers' money being utilised efficiently. 

“Every rupee is taken seriously, and therefore, some public engagements are needed to make people understand that this is the most critical job for the country's finances, not just for the government of India,” the minister said.